George HW Bush dies

Former US president George HW Bush, who guided America through the end of the Cold War and launched the international campaign to drive Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait, died yesterday at his home in Houston. He was 94.

Tributes quickly poured in for the 41st US president -- a decorated World War II pilot, skilled diplomat and onetime CIA chief who also saw his son George follow in his footsteps to the Oval Office.

Bush's passing comes just months after the death in April of his wife Barbara -- his "most beloved woman in the world" -- to whom he was married for 73 years.

"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died," former president George W Bush said in a statement.

"George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for," he said.

Bush is survived by his five living children -- a sixth child, daughter Robin, died of leukemia before her fourth birthday -- and 17 grandchildren.

Bush suffered from Parkinson's disease and had used a wheelchair for several years. He had been in and out of hospital in recent months, including right after Barbara's death.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course, McGrath said.

The former president, a Republican, is expected to lie in state in the US Capitol and then be buried at his presidential library in Texas.

President Donald Trump hailed Bush's "sound judgment, common sense, and unflappable leadership."

At the White House, the American flag flew at half-staff early yesterday.

Bush -- who was born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts into a wealthy New England political dynasty -- put his studies and career on hold to join the US Navy during World War II. He flew 58 combat missions and was shot down over the Pacific by Japanese anti-aircraft fire.

He returned home and graduated from Yale University, eventually launching a brief career in the oil industry in Texas.